NEWS

Millions of employees to be newly entitled to overtime, David Miller tells city attorneys

A new federal rule will be going into effect on December 1st. The rule will make millions of employees entitled to be paid overtime, BMO Labor and Employment Shareholder David C. Miller warned a gathering of Florida municipal attorneys recently. The regulation under the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act raises the minimum salary required to maintain overtime-exempt status from $23,660 annually to $47,476. Miller urged the attorneys to use the breathing space between now and December to prepare for the change. Employers need to find out what positions will be affected and how much the potential cost could be, he said. They will then be able to make informed choices as to how to deal with the change, possibly raising salaries or helping employees become more efficient to avoid incurring overtime, he added. Miller spoke at the annual conference of the Florida Municipal Attorneys Association on July 28 in Bonita Springs. Almost 300 attorneys from across Florida attended the event.